a wonderful quick read that explored all of the ways romance affects our life!!

I loved the focus on the character’s disability and gave a real true example of what it was like for people today. most of the things abled people take for granted and don’t even think twice about, but I’m definitely going to be thinking about it now.

the writing was a little young for me, despite the characters’ ages and the smutty scenes, but I really enjoyed this one.

thank you to netgalley and books go social for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for a free eARC copy of Safety in Numbers in exchange for an honest review. I thought this book was lovely! A fun, super fast-paced read. I was attracted to this book because of its woman-in-STEM component, hot on the heels of my obsession with The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood. This book definitely delivered on the same type of grumpy-sunshine dynamic, albeit less-well executed. I also loved that this book had disability representation! Main character Seraphina has a TBI that she sustained from a car accident that killed her mother. An important plot line throughout the book is Seraphina's coping mechanisms that she must utilize on a daily basis to function well in the wake of the accident. If I can offer a rather significant critique, I would say that the author could have used this book to include more psychoeducation on TBIs. If I had not had any previous knowledge of TBIs, I don't think this book would have explained TBIs well enough for me to understand their complexity and nuance of manifestation. I also take issue with how TBI stigma was left largely unaddressed, and how Seraphina's doctors at Morely House did not do much in the way of helping her to process her own internalized shame and guilt over the accident and her resulting condition. In fact, some of their methodologies may have served to perpetuate, if not worsen the emotional burden of Serphina's TBI.

I enjoyed the romance between Seraphina and her boss, Dr. Milo Grant, however, I would have appreciated a slower burn at the beginning of their relationship. Apart from the obvious physical attraction between the two, I had no reason to believe that they would both truly be interested in a romantic relationship. It felt as though the story relied too much on a forced proximity trope.

Our two main characters are very intellectual thinkers, so it stands to reason that they would have a lot of internal thoughts and dialogue, but at times it felt like these characters were too much in their heads. I would have appreciated more dialogue between these two characters to watch them to get to know each other more deeply and vicariously experience their falling in love.

TL;DR Overall, this was a fun and quick read. I enjoyed the spicy scenes, and I thought there was a good mix of explicit and fade-to-black. This book is not without its flaws, but it does bring awareness and representation to the population of those effected by TBIs and resulting disabilities.

"For me there was safety in numbers; you could always rely on them"
"My life was automated to the extreme, but it was the only way I could make it through"
"So I'm in the presence of a fiery angel, am I? I feel like I should be on my knees"
Trigger warning for: child trauma, brain injury, recovery, disability
Saying that I loved this book would be wrong. I adored it!
This was exactly the balm I needed ,during an hard time, to make me remember that everyday we should have a reason to be thankful to be here and be loved!
For fans of "The Kiss Quotient" series, here comes a book that deals with brain injury, disability and survival while creating a sweet, romantic and spicy cloud, all around it, to soften the atmosphere and our hearts.
I loved every second of reading it ... I definitely couldn't put it down.
It was amazing to read: the plot, the romance, the struggle, the difficulties and how the characters face them... it was amazing to feel invited to it and share their story.
It was fascinating how Seraphina used math and logic, and any form of science for that matter, to deal with her trauma and try to rationalise everything she was going through. And it was amazing how strong she was by facing each struggle and each fall everyday and got even stronger after it.
I was in love for the romance ... how it developed, how it grew and how, despite everything, it endured!
I'm really glad I read this book and I can't wait for everyone else to get into it!
"At that moment I knew I had to have her. I didn't care about her challenges or her past; I needed her to be mine"
"Now that the beast had been released from the cage, there was no getting her back in"
"You're like a beautiful, intricate puzzle, Seraphina. Just when I think I've figured you out, I uncover another side of you"

wow, just wow. I've put off reading this for a little while, not for any particular reason, but just didn't feel like reading. Now I can't even think of a reason not to reread it. This book was extremely good! Loved the women in STEM rep. One thing I have to mention is Milo, I fell so in love with him, his ambition, his pure love and his understanding for Seraphina.

I really liked the focus on Seraphina's disability and how her situation is portrayed in a very realistic way. Overall is this book really well written, and Sophie Penhaligon should be really proud of this book.

I had really high hopes for this book. The premise if it is great, but I do not believe it was not executed as well as it could have been. The reader follows Seraphina a young woman suffering from, aphasia, a severe brain damage. It starts with Seraphina applying for a job she is extremely qualified for, but doesn't get due to lack of social skills from her brain injury. Once the book picks up the CEO offers her the job anyway and they start working together.

This book had a lot of things I personally enjoy. The love interest, CEO, Milo is an ass and admits to being, but yet isn't to Seraphina. He does not seem to change at all, except that from the fact that he wants Seraphina, since she's smart and special. Seraphina is an interesting character, but I felt like her brain injury was her defining feature, which I am not saying is a bad thing. Seraphina is a beautiful woman, who is very intelligent and driven. Yet the book truly portrays her as only being someone with a brain injury. Anyone who know someone who has a disability, knows its the person THEN the disability not the other way around. Seraphina doesn't want to tell people about her injury because she doesn't want people to treat her differently, but gets upset when they do because they don't know why she is the way she is.
I strongly believe that the characters were not used to their full potential and were quite flat, especially Milo since he does not change in the slightest.


I read this book as part of a promotional book tour and am grateful for the opportunity to do so.

While engaging at first, this book did not leave a long-lasting mark. Seraphina is suffering from a traumatic brain injury and that causes her to see herself as less than, and undeserving of love and she never overcomes this thought process. Book was longer than necessary.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The first thing I noticed and loved was the dual POV. I think it really helps to engage in the characters. The female main character is brilliant. She is extremely smart and has overcome a lot, which is something I always love to read about. The male main character did not do it for me in this book. I thought he was a little over jealous, which was off-putting. However, I do understand his history made him like that.

If you're looking for a cute romance with a good message and perfect about of spice, I'd say give this book a read!

Safety in numbers by Sophie Penhaligon

Rating: 2/5
⭐️⭐️

I absolutely hate writing bad reviews. It makes me feel so guilty but in order to provide a honest review here we are.

From the get-go I was super excited. I mean women in STEM, my very first disability rep book and dual-POV?! Literally sign me up. But while actually reading I realised the book was really rushed and at first I thought that was to get the story going, but the more I read the more rushed it felt.

The plot was slightly boring and I felt no real connection with the characters. I felt no chemistry and everything felt pretty straightforward. I never found a genuine reason as to why either character liked each other. It was just he notices her and she’s always noticed him. It felt very insta-love so maybe I’m biased considering I’m a more slow-burn kind of reader.

The dialogue between the characters was almost childish in a sense. It didn’t feel natural at all. One of the things that didn’t sit well with me was that the whole book revolves around a love story. I never once saw more to the characters than each other and seeing as though both characters are very interesting, I was disappointed to not see it develop more.

Regarding the disability rep, I learned quite a bit about anomic aphasia, which was really interesting. Through Seraphina, the author did teach me something and also the struggles of how people with disabilities struggle to find themselves and show their true selves to other people. through Milo, she did portray methods in helping people with this disability

Despite the fact it wasn’t for me, you may like it as I’ve seen many reviews commending the book. Read around and see!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with this eARC!

This book starts off well, and has an appealling premise if - like me - you enjoy an easy romantic comedy, and dark and grumpy falls for sunshiney goodness trope. Milo's character starts off interesting, and Seraphima's situation has promise.

About half way through it starts to feel excessively cringe, with tropes I am not as much into or even okay with.

And then it just falls a part from there. I was looking forward to a strong female lead, but Seraphima's character has very little growth and is steeped in so much ableism (she persistently believes she does not deserve to be in a relationship because of her aphasia...) Milo is supposedly a grumpy asshole who starts off just soft for Seraphima but ends up just being a soft limp noodle in general with insane jealousy issues. Milo's backstory is barely touched on and a lot of things get blown into Big Deal Issues that really are not (swearing off relationships because of one superficial woman?)

There is no real heat or chemistry. No anticipation that I usually enjoy in a romance book. The ableism gets worse and worse. The setting is America but the characters often speak as though they - like the author - were born and raised in England. And as they come together as a couple about half way through the book, the second half of the book is almost nauseating with the lovey doveyness.

If you want a truly fluffy-bordering-on-cringe romance with very little substance, you may enjoy this. It certainly has some cute moments. But if you prefer your deisability rep to not be trite inspiration porn, please do yourself a favour and pass on this. Also not for you if you like to see actual character growth and not just characters consumed by over the top love.

Thank you to Netgalley and BooksGoSocual for lending me a virtual arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, this book was a very light and easy read. If you want something upbeat and centered around romance, then this book is for you.

However I struggled with it being centered around a woman in the stem field. I felt that once Seraphina and Milo were together, we did not see any aspect of Seraphina’s career or outside life at all. I also have an issue where one of the romantic partners does not have solid relationships outside of the romantic relationship. Other relationships were mentioned, but you didn’t see them until the very ending. I felt that this book also relied on the catty women stereotype and that only certain types of women can be in stem.

I did have strong opinions on how the book approached Seraphina’s TBI, however I have not experienced or know of someone who has a TBI to speak from any solid ground, but I did feel like the book didn’t do it justice. That after the first 1/3 of the book, it was only used as a plot device and an after thought when it couldn’t serve the story.

Lastly, I felt it was lacking substance. After a certain point it felt like a hallmark movie, for lack of a better phrase. And while I live hallmark movies, I don’t appreciate them when I’m expecting a relatively strong and nuanced product. This book started off with so much potential, but quickly fell flat.

Seraphina Ellis has a brain injury from a car accident. She is still a brilliant MIT grad mathematician but everyday living is now a daily challenge. She relies on routines, reminder cards and avoiding stimulus like too much noise or people. She applies to be a research analyst, her dream job, with billionaire CEO and scientist Milo Grant. Grant has his own background that makes him demanding and a jerk. But he appreciates her beauty and her mind.

The story is told from alternating POVs and I was very intrigued by Seraphina. How she adapts to get through her days and how the brain injury impacts her. I was less excited by Milo. I like that he's accepting of her limits but pushes her to try new things. But I'm uncomfortable that he is her boss, filthy rich and has all the control. At times I thought how sweet and other times it felt too Machiavellian, she was just his pretty pet. The story could have used some friends or other people to interact with besides his cook and driver. I did like how the ending plays out. Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the premise and the characters in the book, but I felt like the romance was too rushed. I enjoyed the disability representation and the chemistry between the two main characters but I wish there was more angst and pining. I would have liked the relationship to be more realistic with more problems.

Beautiful story! I loved the representation of disability in this title. So many disabilities are unseen and it was nice to see a character who "looked" normal represented and the angst that goes along with do-you-tell or do-you-not-tell about your situation. Seeing her routines was touching and seeing the evolution of her breaking those routines was uplifting. I cannot recommend this title enough!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

<b>PROS:</b>
- I love to see disability representation, especially TBI. To see a lot of what happens when cognitive decline happens made it feel more realistic.
- I enjoyed Seraphina and Milo’s relationship is based on communication which helps a lot and makes the breakup trope realistic when it happens.
- I loved that Milo immediately asked about accommodations is pretty awesome.

<b>CONS:</b>
- I wished she had more relationships outside of Milo. When first meeting Kendall, I thought that would be it, but that quickly turned into “I’m not like other girls.” There are a few people who do show up but not until the 3rd act. I wish the author had even a phone conversation or email or something to connect them better to the story.
- I have a chronic illness that makes a few things irritate me but that’s probably because of hindsight. Milo not caring about her past or challenges but he needs to! Her past is important to how she operates in the world and addresses her own ableism.

Overall, there were parts where the book was lacking. Everything happened really quickly despite the book takes place around six months or more (I think) from start to finish. I wanted more of an impact with Seraphina and Milo’s relationship that I just didn’t feel.

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

The book comes out officially January 3rd 2022

So the premise of the story inmediately caught my attention. I mean, women in STEM, dissability rep, the boss/employee trope and a billionare CEO love interest that gives off "i hate everyone but you" vibes... say less. The beginning was really promising but it wasn't long until I noticed some points that took away from my reading experience.

1. Dialogue

The main character suffers from a brain injury as a result of a car crash, so she struggles to get some words across and has a harder time just communicating in general, which didn't really bother me however what did made me cringe at times was the fact that, as a result the love interest kept filling in the silences with extremely cringey dialogue and dad jokes.

I'm an avid contemporary romance reader so I'm not that affected by cheesy lines every now and then, but it got to the point were whenever he spoke I was just bracing myself for it. It was personally not my cup of tea.


2. The ableism

Like I mention previously the main character has a dissability and I am all up for representation but not this kind. Look, I'm not disabled to say what's ableist or what isn't so take this with a grain of salt but even the synopsis describes Seraphina as "broken" because of her disability which I wasn't a particular fan of. There's also aspects within the story such as Seraphina's own thought process when it comes to her aphasia (which can be justified to some degree because of the fact that she just recently started learning how to deal with her disability which can be very frsutrating) as well as aspects like the fact that Seraphina needed to see Billy (a guy who also suffers from a brain injury but isn't as verbal or motor as her) in order to remember that she is "not that bad". That just didn't really sit well with me

3. The main character's entire life revolves around the love interest

This girl has 2 friends who are not even named in the story, who she never speaks to and the only people she can rely on are her mother's friends who apparently love her like a daughter but we don't get to see any of their interactions with her until is convient to the plot. I mean...

The only things we know about her are that she likes math and classical music... and that's about it. I was expecting a lot more from this story in terms of representation and it just didn't really lived up to the expectations I had.



Overall... I think this is a cute cheesy story that can be liked by some and while I didn't absolutely hated it since there were its fair share of cute moments and good writing at times, this three aspects listed were themes that I couldn't unsee the more I kept reading


Final rating: 2 stars

I was interested in this book from the blurb, but once I started to read it, I started losing interest. I was excited because the author had included mental disability and STEM. I might have had high expectations after reading other STEM/mental disability books, but it just didn't do it for me.

I did not want to DNF the book cause I wanted to see if it would get any better and give it a chance. Through the first few chapters, I was bored and almost DNFed. It took like three chapters to find out what was wrong with the FL. Like the whole time, I had "what's going on?" questions in my head while reading, and I feel like I shouldn't have those questions while reading a book. We still don't find out what exactly happened to her until towards the end of the book, which wasn't even worth the wait.

After finishing the book, all I could think was this should have been a lifetime movie. It would have been quicker to get through it. You have your grumpy scientist CEO and your damsel. Both with self-pity and find each other to "grow."

I really liked how tough Seraphina is. Standing on her own feet alone and trying to carry on a life all by herself after the accident was very challenging. Especially since it left major changes that she's attempting to accustom. I don't blame her for keeping from everyone her condition. Sometimes we conceal our flaws for everyone not take advantage of us and avoid pity from others. Yet some other times we have to let go the conception of being a burden and let others know the situation for them to adjust and consider about it.

On the other side, Milo's personality is so dreamily appealing. There's always an intriguing story behind a grumpy badass man.

This is the first time I read a book from the author and one thing I really worshipped is the writing style—easy and crystal clear. The dual point of views of the characters deliver fairness, both on their perspectives. The notion of both leads looking comforts that they got from each other was all but realistic.

I would like to thank the author, BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for kindly providing a copy of this book.

#SafetyinNumbers #NetGalley #SophiePenhaligon #Arc BooksGoSocial

Are you a fan of the writing style of Sally Thorne? Christina Lauren? Mhairi McFarlane? Oh, what about Ali Hazelwood? If so, think carefully before picking up this book. The description screams 'The Hating Game' / 'Love Hypothesis', but the contents of the book are more 'Fifty Shades of Grey'. This is to say, if you like really meek female main characters and unnecessarily mean but 'not mean to you' male main characters, you'll probably enjoy this a lot more than I did.

I went into this novel really excited, high off of having finished the Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood a few weeks prior, and just wanting more nerdy love. Unfortunately, this book just didn't deliver for me. I struggled to connect to the narrative and the characters in general. This does switch perspectives between the two protagonists, giving you a little insight into each of their thoughts while interacting with each other, but it just didn't work the way I think the author intended it to. I struggled to empathize at all with either of the leads.

Anyways, romance novel readers beware. This would maybe be worth it as a mass market paperback you pick up at the grocery store, but nothing worth paying more than $5 for.

I hope that the author keeps writing nerdy romance and grows from this novel, so that we can have a whole romance subgenre focused on STEM novels.

I would like to thank the author and NetGalley for kindly providing a copy of this book to review.

This book was very good!! The writing is pretty descriptive and the main love interest is definitely the grumpy stereotype but I was really getting into it around 40% in.

I am not an expert in this area by any means but, I think it has a really good representation of a brain injury disability and what that is like on a day to day basis. This book covers some heavy themes well and I overall enjoyed reading this book.

Firstly this books cover does it no justice at all! It seems to be sold as a workplace romance your typical newbie falling for the scary boss but.. it is SO much more! Seraphina is a wonderful, complex character that you instantly fall in love with- Sophie beautifully explores sensitive topics that we as a society don’t speak about enough; disability and loss. A real insight into language disorders and how they can be all consuming- Seraphina’s entire life changes over night and we get to see how troubling it is to not be able to access information. I can’t even imagine losing access to things like the name of a lemon! Thank you for bringing us this book Sophie and showing us how we can support people with language disorders.